Hating It

Public comments on proposed medical cannabis program changes flood Department of Health

Hundreds of New Mexico medical
marijuana patients, producers and program advocates continue to voice
dissent to what could be the state's most sweeping rule changes since 2010.

In June, they flooded the
email boxes of Secretary of Health Retta Ward and program managers with petitions
and written comments expressing their opposition to patient grown plant caps,
increased fees and other proposed regulations.

Last week, the New Mexico
Department of Health, which held a public hearing on proposal rule changes in Santa
Fe on June 16, provided SFR with nearly 500 of the 900
written responses received as of July 1. The documents included a
petition signed by close to 1,300 people from around the state, New
York, Florida, Oregon and as far away as Germany.

The comments included a
passionate plea from a 14-year-old girl who took time from her summer break to
urge regulators to reconsider the rules. Grieving the death of her father, who
died from a prescription pill overdose, she insists cannabis “helps people live
better lives.”

“I know if my father
knew of the medical cannabis program he would still have been alive," she
writes.

While Ward did not
attend the public meeting, behind the scenes she forwarded the emails she
received directly to program administrators. Others bypassed the Department of
Health altogether and sent their concerns directly to Gov. Susana Martinez.

Some recommended
Martinez set up a task force to review the program and ensure regulators
operate “in accordance” with the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act.

During the public
comment period, at least one producer offered patients a free gram of marijuana
to sign a form letter.

Even national
advocates monitoring the situation in New Mexico submitted letters in
opposition to some of the proposed regulations.

Americans for Safe
Access, which is based in Oakland, California, suggested the organization supports
independent lab testing, improved product labeling requirements, and more
training for non-profit providers, but wrote thatsome of the proposals would “adversely affect New Mexico’s
patient population and financially vulnerable." Costs, they claim, would
increase and “patients would have a difficult time maintaining a 90-day supply
of medication.”

The Drug Police Alliance
stated it believes the new regulations would illegally place “new and crush
burdens on poor families."

“As a result of these restrictions, New Mexican families with
a sick or dying child who cannot afford to purchase medical cannabis from a
licensed producer, who do not have adequate or consistent access to a licensed
producer because of where they live, or who rely on a particular strain of
medical cannabis not offered by a nearby producer, would be legally prevented
from cultivating cannabis for their child,” wrote Drug Policy Alliance Legal
Affairs Director Daniel Abrahamson.

Frustrated patients say they were
left out of the planning process. SouthEast New Mexico Medical Cannabis Alliance founder Robert Pack
told Ward her claims that patient advocacy groups were contacted ahead of
compiling the new rules “is questionable at best and a lie at the worst.” He
says the department blatantly disregarded patient groups.

“It calls into
question the integrity of the proposed rule changes and the manner by which
they have been assembled and presented,” Pack wrote.

SFR could not find
any comments in support of the complete package of rules in the documents that were provided, but at least one patient appeared to support producer fees
increases. At least one said the proposed rules regarding security at grow facilities
doesn’t go far enough. He suggested the NMDOH allow growers’ security agents be
allowed to carry firearms because the industry is a prime target for criminals.

A public defender
balked at lowering the number of plants patients can legally grow and wrote
about that clogging the courts up with more “frivolous” criminal cases.

Current Medical
Advisory Board member Dr. Laura Brown sent a note adding to comments she made
at the public hearing. Brown believes the changes are political and infringe on
patients’ rights. Still, she said she would support rule changes that are
based on evidence.

“It appears to me
that the politics of this program are trumping effective public health and
medicine,” she wrote.

Others say they want
the health department to focus on the New Mexico’s opiate drug overdose and
alcohol-related death epidemic, adding they want the pot program left alone.

Jason Marks, an
Albuquerque attorney and former Public Regulation Commissioner who represents
16 of the 23 nonprofit producers, submitted a detailed 40-page letter and
exhibits.

Even a retired law
enforcement officer on a fixed income complained about the impact the changes
would have on the cost of his medication.

Natural Rx dispensary
owner Trevor Reed told the health department he surveyed his former patients ahead
of the June hearing to learn why so many had quit the program and learned that
many say the program has too many barriers.

At least one of his
patients said a doctor had opted not to help with the license renewal process, citing the
program had become “too complicated” and “too cumbersome.”

A lab scientist who
is preparing standards for heavy metal testing says the new rules omit
important considerations. She’d like those to be similar to ones used in Canada
where heavy metal standards are based on daily ingestion limits.

New MexiCann Natural
Medicine founder Len Goodman, who operates Santa Fe’s largest dispensary, opposes the proposed plant restrictions. He claims harvests should be a function of the
market.

“The proposed regulations must be withdrawn from consideration and
input must be obtained from all stake holders [sic] before crafting new proposed regulations that will improve the NM MCP rather than harming it,”
Goodman wrote in his 14-page letter. “With
sufficient plant count and sufficient yield to meet patient needs, a legitimate
market can function that will lead a cooperative competition resulting in lower
prices for patients.”

Goodman plans to
continue arguing his case in Taos on July 17, when Legislative Health and
Human Services Committee has added discussion on the proposed changes to its interim meeting agenda.

Independent Hearing
Officer Susan Hapka has said she’ll read all the comments submitted in writing
before issuing her own opinion on the rules later this summer.